Welcome Back Gift
by serianri
Summary: After everything is done and over with, Sasuke returns to Konoha. This time, instead of seeking revenge, he is seeking answers. But little did he know, his friends have a special surprise for the young Uchiha.
1. Team Seven

Chapter 1: Team Seven

...

"Hey Naruto." Naruto slurped the rest of his ramen and looked at his navy-haired best friend. "Say, I've been meaning to ask..."

"Yeah me too. Sasuke, you've been staring off into space for quite some time. If you don't want your ramen, I can help you finish it, before it gets any colder."

Sasuke slid the never touched bowl of Ichiraku ramen over to his hungry friend. "Didn't you ever get sick of chasing me around all these years? Why'd you do that?"

The blond boy put down his bowl and looked seriously at Sasuke. "Because you're my brother."

The Uchiha stared at his friend.

[Naruto didn't change at all.]

"Why'd you ask out of nowhere?" the blond questioned back while picking up his chopsticks again.

Sasuke ignored his noisy friend and stood up. He paid his portion and left the shop.

...

As Sasuke slowly strolled the familiar streets of the village he grew up in, he passed by the hospital.

Looking back at that building. Same as ever. How nostalgic.

Sasuke was about to continue walking when Sakura stepped out of the hospital and their eyes met.

"Sasuke-kun." The girl blushed. Even now, she couldn't help control her feelings when near the Uchiha.

"Sakura. Walk with me." The boy continued down the nostalgic streets of Konoha, accompanied by his former teammate. No words were exchanged until they walked along the river. "Sakura."

"Hmm?"

"Are you scared of me?"

The pink-haired girl looked at Sasuke who was expecting a direct answer. "No."

"Were you scared of me when we reunited at Orochimaru's den?" Sakura recalled the painful memory.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I knew that deep inside, Sasuke-kun still acknowledged us as your teammates." Sasuke looked at the beautiful standing in front of him.

"Sakura. You've grown a lot stronger." He turned his head slightly, but disappeared before Sakura was able to say anything in reply.

...

Sasuke walked up the stairs leading to the Lady Hokage's office, but stopped when he caught sight of the silver haired jounin.

"Kakashi."

"If it's not my old disciple."

"I have a question."

"Are you sure I'll be able to answer the questions of someone like you?" Sasuke sensed a little tension. It was understandable since he did try to kill his former teacher once. "Why don't you find someone else to answer you," Kakashi said as he continued to descend the stairs.

"Only you can answer this." The masked jounin turned around and looked indifferently at Sasuke. "Would it be alright if I continued to call you Sensei?" It took a lot of courage to throw away his pride to ask this question and Kakashi secretly liked the feeling of being the cause of his hurt ego.

"You were never officially removed from Team Seven. At least not that I know of."

"T...Thanks." The boy faltered. He wasn't quite used to that word yet.

"Sasuke. I'm treating Team Seven too BBQ tonight." Kakashi disappeared.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke only dared whisper this after his respected teacher left.


	2. Punishment

Chapter 2: Punishment

...

"Sasuke. You're late. Don't forget that you still need to atone for your crimes."

"Granny."

"You. Do. Not. Call. Me. That. Shrimp."

"Anyways. I understand your good intentions, but seriously. Lock me up or something. I say that such treatment is pretty fair, don't ya think?"

"I've already decided on what you're going to be doing and I do not plan on changing anything."

"I'm saying that I much rather be whipped and confined in a cell for a few years rather than be on garbage duty."

"Uchiha Sasuke. You listen carefully. First of all, if it weren't for Naruto, I assure you that you won't be standing here in the first place. Secondly, punishments are not given according to the wrongdoer's preference. And lastly, arranging our ancient records and data books is not, and will never be considered "garbage duty."

"Aren't you wasting my skills by sending me to do such useless chores?"

"As arrogant as ever. I'll play fire with fire. You are now also responsible for checking and organizing the death records as well. That's final."

The furious boy stomped out.

"Stubborn kids. What a pain. I really can't wait until I retire."

...

"Sasuke-kun," Shizune greeted the boy. "I was expecting you." She pointed a finger at the highest shelf of the enormous data room. "You start from there and work your way down."

"My eyes are going to go bad just going through the first shelf."

"Aww. That's too bad since you're the last Uchiha clan member. Good luck." The Hokage's assistant smiled as she dismissed herself from her shift.

"Being a good guy isn't easy." Sasuke pulled out the first document and began organizing.

After pulling out a few more documents, Sasuke realized that they were already all in order.

[Did Shizune already finish this? Well, I did always like her better than that granny.]

Sasuke jumped down and walked to the room with the village's birth and death records. He was surprised to see that Shizune was already in there.

"Why are you helping me?" the egoist questioned.

"I'm not helping you. I'm just doing my work."

The two worked silently in the same room for a good few hours until the older woman shattered the silence.

"Sasuke-kun. That's the last pile. Look at it with extra care." Sasuke nodded.

"Thanks," the boy snuck in before Shizune left the room and closed the door.

[Sasuke-kun. Look carefully. You're a smart boy. Don't let it slip. After all, Lady Hokage didn't assign you to this job for nothing. With this, I hope you can forget all your desires for revenge, once and for all.]


	3. Welcome Back, Uchiha

Chapter 3: Welcome Back, Uchiha

Sasuke skimmed through the documents.

[How ironic. The last pile she leaves me is the death count and records of my deceased clan. Are they mocking me? Well, whatever. I just have count every member and recall every last soul that died along with the reputation of the revered Uchiha clan. That old hag. Why'd I even bother to come back in the first place?]

...

[Wait. This doesn't match. The number of names and corpse count is a little off. I checked both lists three times and all three times, the numbers didn't add up right. Something's wrong.]

...

"Granny Tsunade!" the unmistakable loud voice of the nine-tailed village hero boomed.

"What now, Naruto? I'm a little busy."

"Where'd you hide Sasuke?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Sasuke has been missing for three days already."

"He's on garbage duty."

Naruto gasped. "That was his punishment?"

"I believe that hurting an egoist's pride is the best method to teach him a lesson."

"How could you? He probably died from suffocation in that room. You promised me that you'll go easier on him if he does decide to return to Konoha. We'll continue this discussion after I save Sasuke." The noisy boy ran through the hallways to the ancient book room.

"Children. I guess I can't retire just yet. If I left Konoha to him as he is, it won't be enough to apologize to my grandfather for an eternity."

...

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he pounded aggressively on the doors that separated him from his recently reunited comrade.

The doors swung open right in time before Naruto's rasengan made contact with the giant doors. Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"Sasuke!" The blond was sobbing. "I thought you died."

"I almost did thanks to you." Sasuke ignored his friend and headed out of the building.

"Sasuke. Where are you going?" Naruto yelled from behind while trying to catch up to his friend.

"Shikamaru!" Sasuke called when he spotted his former classmate. The two geniuses exchanged eye contact. "I need you to help me decipher something." Sasuke laid out around twenty scrolls in front of the tired shinobi. "I need you to help me locate someone."

Shikamaru stared at the serious Uchiha. "What a drag."

...

"Shikamaru, thanks." The shadow user looked at Sasuke who teleported right afterwards.

"Welcome back Uchiha," Shikamaru said and closed his eyes.

...

Sasuke finally stopped in front of a house isolated from the village.

"Where are you going? You're not thinking about leaving are you? You're Sasuke Uchiha. You can't just give up after a few days in the book room. I'll drag you back myself if I have to. Plus, we have a Team Seven reunion tonigh-"

"Naruto. Be quiet." Sasuke walked and stopped in front of the door of the house. He took a deep breath and knocked. A beautiful blue-haired girl in her late twenties opened the door for him.

Sasuke stared at her in disbelief.

"Oi, Sasuke. You've been staring at her for a whole minute already and you didn't blink once. Stop before you creep out the pretty lady." Naruto intended only for his whisper to be heard by his best friend, but the other party heard loud and clear.

"Sasuke." The woman's voice was filled with gentleness. "Come in," the breathtaking woman said as she opened the door wider. The woman had a motherly expression on her face. "Both of you."

Both boys walked in and only then did they realize that underneath her sweater, there was a baby bump on her stomach. Sasuke turned his head when he heard a creak from one of the rooms. A little boy walked out, followed by a girl in her late teens.

The boy who looked around thirteen walked out and stood in front of Sasuke. He and the older boy stared at each other in profound wonder and curiosity.

The two girls' laughter cut off the uneasy tension that the silence built. The younger girl stepped up and grabbed Sasuke's pair of hands. Much to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke didn't pull away.

"Sasuke Uchiha. You're just as handsome as Itachi." The Uchiha boy shocked when he heard his late brother's name. Sasuke stared at the pretty blue-haired girl who looked of about the same age as him give or take a year or two.

"What's your name?"

The girl smiled slyly at the impatient boy as if teasing him. She then let go of his hands and put hers around his neck and pulled him down to her height.

"Yuna," the girl whispered as she captivated Sasuke with her authentic crimson eyes.


End file.
